Let the Games Begin!
by Darkflower830
Summary: "You mean you haven't heard?" Sorreltail asked. "Heard what? Leafpool meowed. "There's going to be a competition! The clans will be competing in different contests, even the kits and elders! They're going to call it The Warrior Cats Games. The winning clan gets to hunt wherever they want for half a moon!"
1. Prologue

**Me: I do not own Warriors, Firestar, who does?**

**Firestar: Me! Just like I think I rule every other clan in the forest!**

**Me: Now Firestar, be serious...**

**Firestar: Fine, Erin Hunter Does.**

Prologue

Leafpool POV:

"Leafpool, Leafpool!" Sorreltail rushed into the medicine den.

"What, What's wrong?" I asked urgently.

"You mean you haven't heard?" Sorreltail asked.

"Heard what? Did Starclan itself come down from the skies?" I meowed.

"No," she retorted, "Anyways…there's going to be a competition! The clans will be competing in different contests, even the kits and elders! They're going to call it The Warrior Cats Games. The winning clan gets to hunt wherever they want for half a moon. Anyways, Firestar says we all have to train, including you with herbs and everything."

"Wow, this is going to be fun, I think," I meowed nodding my head. "What will Jaykit do though?" I thought suddenly feeling sorry for my secret kit.

Jaykit POV:

"Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a meeting!" Firestar's voice rang through the camp. I stumbled to the clearing with the help of my littermates. "As most of you know, there will be a Warrior Cats Games. Each cat including the kits and elders will be competing against the other clans. You too Leafpool. The winning clan gets to hunt wherever they want for half a moon. The games will begin in two moons, so we have plenty of time to train. Jaykit and Squirrelflight, may I see you in my den please?" My heart sank, I knew what this is about. I sat in his den next to my mother in front of Firestar.

"Jaykit, we have to figure this out. Do you think you can manage the games?"

I felt myself getting angry, but I forced myself to stay calm. "Yes, I know I can manage," I meowed through gritted teeth.

"Firestar, If I may speak. Jaykit, I don't want you take this the wrong way, but I think Longtail could give you some basic training if there is play fighting or something in there." Squirrelflight suggested. I nodded reluctantly.

"Then it is settled, I shall tell Longtail of the news," Firestar meowed.

*The Next Morning*

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting! The time to begin training for the Warriors Cats Games has begun. There will be many games for each cat. For the kits, the games will be play fighting, catch the moss ball, and a relay race. For the apprentices, including the medicine cat apprentices, there will be hunting which will include fishing and hunting on the moor, a race around the lake, and fighting. For the warriors there will be fighting with claws sheathed, hunting, and a triathlon consisting of : hunting, tree climbing, swimming, and ending with a race to the finish. For the medicine cats, there will be a herb gathering relay race, herb mixing, herb identifying, as well as trying to teach a warrior the basics of herbs, on which they will be tested on. Finally, for the elders, there will be a three-legged race, a scavenger hunt, and identify the prey." Firestar stated.

"What about the queens? There may not be any queens nursing of expecting in Thunderclan, but what about the other clans?" Ferncloud questioned, whose kits had recently weaned from her milk.

"The leaders and I have set the date for the games at a time where all the queens are able to participate in the warrior tasks, and the kits can compete in their level as well."

"Firestar," Daisy stepped forward. "If I may...can I be excused from the games? I don't have any proper training, I will be perfectly happy just watching."

Firestar narrowed his eyes,"Very well. We will divide each day into 5 slots in which we will work on each cats' games. Let the training begin!" Firestar shouted, his voice ringing across the camp.

**Authors Note: I know that Daisy can't participate in the warrior activities, so she's decided to not participate and just be kind of like a cheerleader in the background.**


	2. Chapter 1: Training Begins!

**I do not own Warriors, Erin Hunter does. :(**

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**Third Person POV:**

"We will being with the kits. If all the kits will come with me to the training hollow, along with Ashfur, Brackenfur, Whitewing, Sorreltail, and Longtail." Firestar announced, jumping off the Highledge. Jaykit groaned inwardly, feeling jealous of his littermates, who weren't getting trained out pity or with special treatment. He reluctantly followed his excited littermates out to the training hollow.

When they got to the hollow, Firestar turned and said, "We'd best split up, Lionkit can go with Ashfur, Hollykit with Brackenfur, Icekit with Sorreltail, Foxkit with Whitewing, and Jaykit with..um...Longtail." He uncomfortably coughed at the last pairing.

"Right then, let's start," Longtail meowed. "When you're blind it's almost like fighting in the dark. You have to rely on smell and sound. Without the sense of sight, our other senses are sharper. You have to listen carefully to the pawsteps of our opponent in order to know where they are. You also have to listen to the air around their paw to know where they will strike. Here, I'll strike my paw, and try to tell me where I was about to strike." Jaykit heard the swish of his paw, and felt the wind near his ear. Instinctively, he ducked.

"Very good!" Longtail praised. "Now, if you are trying to attack your opponent, and you can't hear where they go, you can try to scent where they are. See if you can scent where I go." Jaykit tried to shut out all other smells except Longtail's. He finally pinpointed it behind him about a tail-length away. He turned quickly and pounced. Longtail, not expecting the attack, stumbled and fell, with Jaykit on top.

"Yay! I AM THE WINNER! Surrender Shadowclan warrior!" he squeaked.

"Oh dear! Please let me go, ferocious and brave Thunderclan warrior. Have mercy!" Longtail pleaded playfully. Jaykit jumped off Longtail, tail waving in excitement, "That was fun! Let's do it again!"

"How 'bout I teach you some basic moves? So, to keep the element of surprise, you want to stay downwind, and be as light as you can on your paws. It's just like stalking prey. Then once you are behind them, you jump onto their back and grip their back. Instinctively, they will try to squash you by rolling onto their back, so at that moment you jump off, and pin them to the ground, giving you the advantage." Longtail explained. Jaykit nodded as he tried to process this information.

"Can I try it now?" he asked. He opened his mouth to scent where Longtail was, and took all of his weight into his haunches. He crept behind Longtail and mustered up all of his strength and leaped onto his back. As he felt Longtail about to roll, he jumped off and pinned Longtail to the ground. He felt Longtail struggle underneath him, and then go limp. Jaykit loosened his grip, and at that moment he felt Longtail about to leap up from the ground. Jaykit squeaked and rolled away before Longtail could squash him like a mouse. He stood there panting and Longtail got up.

"That was very good instinct when you felt me about to leap up. That's one of my favorite moves! When your opponent has you pinned, you go limp and they will think you have surrendered. When they loosen their grip on you, you leap up, and take them by surprise."

"Cool! Can we try it now?" Jaykit asked.

"Actually, I think we ought to start practicing for catch the moss ball." Longtail said as he felt a moss ball hit his head.

"Oops! Sorry!" Foxkit squeaked as he ran up. Longtail laughed and picked up the moss ball with his claw and threw it back for Foxkit to chase. "Now," he continued, "When the moss ball is thrown, you have to listen to the air around it in order to know where it is headed." Longtail threw a ball of moss. Jaykit pricked his ears to listen to the air, he heard it heading near his shoulderblades. Jaykit quickly backed up in an effort to catch it, but as he clamped his jaws shut, he realized he had been a mouse-whisker too far to the right.

"Mouse-dung!" Jaykit cursed.

"That's okay, we'll keep practicing, we still have two moons. But I think we ought to be heading back, it's probably time for the apprentices to start training, we'll work on the relay race tomorrow." All the cats filed out of the hollow back to the camp. "That was a fun training session, I guess I won't mind having Longtail as my mentor," Jaykit thought.

When they got back to the camp Firestar announced for the apprentices and their mentors to make their way out to the forest.

"How was training?" Squirrelflight asked as Jaykit and his littermates scampered up to her.

"It was great! Longtail is really funny and he taught me how to listen to the air for movement!" Jaykit meowed excitedly.

"That's wonderful!" Squirrelflight lifted her head up to the sky, and said something that Jaykit couldn't catch, but it sounded like a thank you. "What about you guys?" Squirrelflight asked his littermates. "It was really fun!" Hollykit and Lionkit echoed.

"I'm so proud of all my kits!" She hugged them closer against her belly and began to wash their heads. Jaykit squeaked in disapproval, as Lionkit grumbled and tried to squirm away, while Hollykit nuzzled up closer to her Squirrelflight's tongue.

"Squirrelflight, will you come as well?" Firestar beckoned her with his tail. Squirrelflight nodded and scampered off, after giving each kit a loving lick on the head.

***Out in the forest***

"We'd best start with hunting, because the clan will be needing fresh-kill," Firestar announced. "To start with, each apprentice split up with their mentors, you cannot come back until each apprentice has caught three pieces of fresh-kill. Mentors may not help catch prey, they can only oversee their apprentice's skills." Firestar widened his eyes and mouthed, "I'm watching you." He slithered back amongst the trees, gone from sight.


	3. Chapter 2: Darn Firestar!

**Authors Note: I do not own Warriors**

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**Brambleclaw POV:**

Firestar widened his eyes and mouthed, "I'm watching you." He slithered back amongst the trees, gone from sight.

"Our leader...everyone, what would we do without him?" I meowed in exasperation for our leader. "Okay then, let's split up and meet back here when the apprentices have three pieces of fresh-kill. Squirrelflight, you can come with me and Berrypaw. " All of the cats padded away to different parts of the forest. Berrypaw ran ahead leaving me and Squirrelflight alone.

"So, how's his training going?" Squirrelflight asked.

"Oh he's always keen to learn, he doesn't listen much though." I focused on Squirrelflight, her warm green eyes, her ginger pelt, she's such a beautiful cat. I sighed, she's so perfect.

"Brambleclaw? Are you okay?" she jolted me out of my daydream.

"Oh, um yeah, let's catch up with Berrypaw." We ran to catch up, following his scent trail, but soon lost it near a tree.

"Brambleclaw! Squirrelflighf! Is thaf you? Thankf Starclan you're here!" Berrypaw shouted from the top of the tree, his voice muffled by a squirrel in his mouth.

"Berrypaw? How did you get up there?" Squirrelflight shouted.

"I'm stuck! Here!" He threw his squirrel to the ground. "I was chasing this wretched squirrel, and finally caught it, but now I'm stuck in this tree!"

"Alright, calm down, I'll get you down in a moment, now get back to the trunk. Good, now put one paw down, one after the other, good. Just keep doing that, and you'll be down soon," I meowed.

"Wait, my paw's stuck! Foxdung! EEE! A bee!" Berrypaw frantically tried to yank his paw free, but as he did he lost his grip and started to fall down toward the ground, screwing his eyes shut in fear.

"Mouse-brained apprentice!" I grumbled, trying to get under him. Finally, he came closer. I opened my mouth in an attempt to catch him. I misjudged his placement, he ended up falling on me. Berrypaw carefully opened one eye then the other and looked around.

"I'm okay! I must have landed on soft ground!"

"More like on a lump of Brambleclaw! Get off before this gets worse!" I groaned. Too late, just then Firestar came charging out of the trees and threw himself on top of us.

"Oh!" I groaned in pain while Squirrelflight giggled uncontrollably.

"I told you I was watching! This is fun! It's like a big, furry, moss and feather nest!" Firestar rolled around on his back, squashing the breath out of me and Berrypaw.

"Please get off, I can't breathe!" Berrypaw choked out. Firestar rolled around some more, then reluctantly rolled off. After a few moments, he calmly drew a paw over his ear.

"Now, why are you guys fooling around? You know this isn't a time to joke around like this. Everyone else is working, while you guys are just playing around. We are all taking this seriously, except for you two." Firestar meowed accusingly. Berrypaw's mouth dropped open wide, and I gaped at Firestar in disbelief.

"But you just-you-"

"I am doing my job, while you two are not taking your jobs seriously. Now gather up your prey and come." Firestar said cooly. I reluctantly followed along with my apprentice, and my mate, who was silently giggling. When they got back, they found the other cats waiting for them along with their prey.

"For the hunting task, you must hunt in the the river as well as on the moor. On the journey, Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight were taught how to fish, so today, they will be teaching us how to do so." Firestar nodded to them.

"Do you want to split them up into two groups? We'll teach the apprentices and mentors so we won't have to teach so many warriors when it's time to the warriors how to fish." I murmured to my mate. She nodded and meowed out loud, "I'll take Honeypaw, Cinderpaw, and Poppypaw along with their mentors further down the stream to learn. Brambleclaw can take Berrypaw, Mousepaw, and Hazelpaw along with their mentors and Firestar." I silently cursed Squirrelflight for putting Firestar in my group. He led his group to a place where he could see plenty of fish.

"Now let me show you what to do. Sit by the edge of the stream with your paw out, ready to strike, but be careful not to let your shadow fall over, that will scare the fish away. When you see a fish quickly dart out a paw, and scoop it up onto the shore." I reached out a paw and threw a fish out of the water and killed it. "Here, I'll show you one more time." I reached out a paw, but before I could try to scoop the fish up, I felt a paw push me into the stream. Letting out a yowl of alarm, I fell into the stream. I bobbed up to see Firestar laughing his tail off as the current pulled me downstream. I drifted past Squirrelflight and her group. She choked back laughter and called out, "How's it going?"

I called back, "Oh, just swimmingly." I managed to grab hold of a root jutting out, and crawled out of the stream. I shook the water out of my pelt and charged to where my group was. I saw next to them, a large pile of fish.

"Now Brambleclaw, we've had this conversation before, now is not the time to fool around!" Firestar meowed sternly. My mouth dropped open wide. Letting out a yowl of annoyance and outrage, I stomped back to camp. My. Life. Is. Foxdung.

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**Authors Note: It's kind of short, but I promise the next one will be longer. Anyways, Firestar can be pretty annoying. :) I won't be able to update for a few days, because I will be traveling. I'll update as soon as I can though!**


	4. Chapter 3: Training Continues

**Authors Note: I don't own Warriors.**

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**Brambleclaw POV:**

_My. Life. is. Foxdung._ I made my way to the medicine den to complain about Firestar.

"Leafpool!" I called into the den.

"Yes Brambleclaw? Oh! My, what happened?" she asked startled when she saw my pelt.

"Firestar happened."

"Oh dear..."

"He pushed me IN THE RIVER while I was fishing, and then said that I was fooling around!" I whined. Leafpool rested her tail comfortingly on my shoulder.

"I know it's hard, but Firestar is like a kit at heart. Starclan knows how cats can take him seriously." she reasoned.

"All right," I gave my pelt a shake, "I'll go out for the warrior's training session, but I refuse to go back right now!" I grumbled.

Leafpool smiled, "All right. Go get some rest, okay?" She licked my shoulder sympathetically. I nodded and yawned as I made my way to the warriors den.

**Squirrelflight POV:**

I giggled uncontrollably as Brambleclaw stomped back to camp._ Poor Brambleclaw... oh, it's just so funny though._ I fell over and started rolling on my back hysterically. By then, every cat was staring at me. I opened my eyes to see them looking at me, and hurriedly got up, giving my chest a few embarrassed licks.

"Right then, it seems we have been doing pretty well with fishing. Let's take our prey back to camp and come back out to practice our fighting moves." I helped take the load back to camp. It took multiple journeys, but after we took all the prey back to camp, we went into the training hollow.

"Since all apprentices are at about the same level, we will begin by pairing them up, and have them practice their fighting, with claws sheathed of course." Firestar continued, "Let's have Mousepaw with Cinderpaw, Berrypaw with Honeypaw, and Poppypaw with Hazelpaw. Mentors can assess their fighting skills. Squirrelflight, you can help with Berrypaw, since Brambleclaw decided to act like a kit and not take his work seriously." I snickered. Firestar nodded and we all split up.

"Should we just have them fight?" I asked Sandstorm, Honeypaw's mentor. She nodded and nodded to the apprentices to begin. Berrypaw and Honeypaw circled each other, Honeypaw let out a threatening hiss and lunged at Berrypaw. Berrypaw rolled away and leapt onto her back, gripping it with sheathed claws. Honeypaw rolled, at which Berrypaw leaped off and pinned her to the ground. Honeypaw went still, her body limp. Berrypaw loosened his grip, but as Honeypaw sprang up, Berrypaw jumped to avoid her attack. Honeypaw turned, and quick as a snake, slithered underneath Berrypaw's belly, and slammed her paws into his stomach, sending him flying. Berrypaw landed on top of Firestar, who was in the corner, sleeping.

"Huh?" Firestar murmured drowsily. He muttered something and wrapped his paws around Berrypaw sleepily, hugged him close, and went back to sleep. Berrypaw's eyes widened and he tried to squeeze out of his grip, but it was impossible. He clawed desperately at the ground, but Firestar only hugged him tighter. Berrypaw rammed his hind leg into Firestar's stomach, but it had no effect on him. Finally Sandstorm and I made our way to them.

"Firestar? It's time to wake up..." Sandstorm said gently. Firestar shook his head and nuzzled Berrypaw. Berrypaw gagged and tried to escape but it was no use. By now everyone was watching.

"Firestar?" I poked him. Dustpelt rolled his eyes and went up to us.

"Firestar," he said. Firestar didn't answer. "Wake up!" Dustpelt sighed. "Firestar? Firestar, I love you." Firestar jerked his head up, awake.

"You do! EW! Gross!" Firestar jumped up, letting go of Berrypaw, and shook his head, as if trying to get that moment out of his head.

"You're welcome." Dustpelt shook his pelt and walked away, back to his apprentice. Firestar gagged and asked, "He loves me? Pshh...I'm way too good for him!" He shook his head with pride. I nodded in amusement. It's time we headed back to camp now so the warriors can train," he announced. The mentors stayed back in the hollow, as Firestar and the apprentices filed back to camp.

"So," I walked over to Dustpelt. "You love him now?" I teased lightly.

Dustpelt growled, "I was trying to help, I DO NOT love my leader!"

"Sure," I giggled as the rest of the warriors came into the hollow. Brambleclaw was at the back, fur damp, scowling at Firestar.

"Oh, Brambleclaw. Firestar was just joking!" I said, going up to him.

"No...joking is putting a thorn in your nest._ JOKING_ is putting mouse-bile on your prey. _JOKING_ IS NOT PUSHING YOU INTO THE RIVER, AND THEN BLAMING YOU FOR ACTING LIKE A KIT!" Brambleclaw shouted. I mrrowed in amusement and rested my tail on his shoulder.

"Okay, I suggest we pair up to practice fighting, with claws sheathed, of course. Dustpelt with Sandstorm, Cloudtail with Brackenfur, Thornclaw with Brightheart, Ashfur with Sorreltail, Spiderleg with Stormfur, Whitewing with Brook, Birchfall with Squirrelflight, and Ferncloud will go with Brambleclaw. Brambleclaw, I trust you will take your job seriously this time," Firestar narrowed his eyes. I giggled next to my mate.

**Third Person POV:**

The cats split up with their partners, with Firestar keeping a close eye on everyone. Brambleclaw and Ferncloud circled each other and hissed threateningly at each other. Squirrelflight leaped onto Birchfall's back, gripping it with sheathed claws. Brook had Whitewing pinned to the ground. Firestar looked back at Brambleclaw and Ferncloud. Ferncloud had Brambleclaw pinned to the ground. Brambleclaw went limp.

"Brambleclaw! Now is not the time to be resting!" Firestar yowled. Brambleclaw sighed in frustration.

"Excuse me," he mumbled to Ferncloud. Ferncloud leaped off of Brambleclaw, as he slowly got up and turned toward Firestar calmly. Letting out a yowl of fury, Brambleclaw leaped onto Firestar, knocking him over.

**Brambleclaw POV:**

I don't know what came over me. I just got so angry and frustrated. So I leaped and knocked Firestar over, taking him by surprise. I pinned him to the ground. Firestar growled and pushed me off. We circled each other. Firestar leaped onto my back, I rolled quickly, squashing him, causing him to loosen his grip. I jumped free and waited for him to scramble back onto his paws. I growled in his face and knocked him off his paws, taking that advantage to pin him to the ground.

"Now that was a fight!" Firestar exclaimed.

"What?" I asked,, confused.

"Don't you realize? I was just making you angry this whole time so I could bring out the best fight in you!" Firestar meowed.

I gaped at him in astonishment. "But why? Why me?"

He shrugged, "Because I can."


	5. Chapter 4: An End to the First Day

**I do not own Warriors, nor will I ever...Hollykit, who owns Warriors?**

**Hollykit: Firestar, because he's the greatest cat to walk the surface of the Earth.**

**Me: Now who told you that?**

**Hollykit: *shies away* I'm ****_supposed_**** to say that it's an obvious thing, and that a newborn kit could realize that...but, Firestar told me to say that. Erin Hunter actually owns Warriors though.**

_I gaped at him in astonishment. "But why? Why me?"_

_He shrugged, "Because I can."_

**Third Person POV:**

"That's it, I can't take this anymore, I give up," Brambleclaw sighed and sat next to Squirrelflight, exasperated.

"Fine then, I guess you can't be modest enough to learn a valuable lesson from the greatest cat to walk the surface of the Earth." Firestar huffed and turned away. He took a deep breath and turned back around. "Now we should start working on the triathlon. We should start with hunting. For the race, each cat will have to catch one fish, one squirrel, one rabbit, and one frog. The clans have agreed to keep a circle of neutral territory in each clan's territory, to practice our hunting skills. We can start with fishing, Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight will be responsible for teaching us. We can just head to the stream at the Windclan border, where we can find fish." The cats headed to the stream at the border.

"Let's split up again. Those with apprentices can go and practice fishing, since you already know how to fish, along with Firestar." Squirrelflight meowed to the cats. "I'll take Brackenfur, Brightheart, and Sorreltail. Brook you can come with me to help. Brambleclaw will take Ashfur, Whitewing, and Birchfall. Stormfur can go with Brambleclaw to help." Squirrelflight nodded, and all the cats split up.

**Squirrelflight POV:**

I led by group downstream and motioned with my tail for them to sit down.

"To start, you want to sit by the water with your paw out, but be careful not to let your shadow fall over the water, that will scare the fish away. When you see a fish, dart your paw into the water and scoop the fish out." I flashed my paw into the water, scooped out the fish, and quickly killed it. "You guys can try it now." We all sat beside the stream, waiting for fish. Brook and I paced around them, helping cats who needed help. I saw Brackenfur leaning over the water, but just as he leaned over the scoop the fish out, he lost his balance and fell into the stream. Beside him, Sorreltail let out a_ mrrow_ of laughter. "Brackenfur, we're practicing fishing, not swimming!" Brackenfur stood up and consciously shook his pelt, spraying water drops everywhere. I shrank away, trying to avoid getting wet.

"Come on," I called him. "You can go sun yourself on those rocks over there, and hopefully you'll get dry soon!" I beckoned with my tail to some sunny rocks. It was not as sunny or as big as Sunningrocks back in the old forest, but it looked like a pretty warm place. Brackenfur leaped out of the stream with a _huff_ and ran to the rocks. Sorreltail blinked at him affectionately and went back to fishing. I stopped and watched her. She leaned over the water, when she spotted a fish, she darted her paw into the water, scooped up a fish, but before she could kill it, it splashed back into the water.

"Mouse-dung!" she cursed.

I rested my tail on her shoulder, "That's okay, just try to be quicker next time. It will help if when you take out the fish, sink your claws into it and pin it down, so it can't splash away, then quickly kill it."

Sorreltail nodded with understanding.

**Third Person POV:**

By the time each cat had caught at least one fish, it was time to head back to camp for the elders. Firestar called the elders out of their den.

"Would you prefer to train in the forest, or here in the camp?" Firestar questioned.

"Here in the camp is fine." Longtail answered.

Firestar nodded.

"We can begin with the three-legged race." Many of the cats padded out of their dens to watch the training, while some went into their dens to rest. Firestar walked over to Mousefur and Longtail with a long and strong leaf and wrapped their legs together. He nodded at them to begin.

"Okay Longtail, we'll step with our outside legs first, then our inside, okay?" Mousefur meowed. Longtail nodded. "Let's go! Outside, inside, outside, inside!" Mousefur shouted as they tried to run. Mousefur, however, started to go too fast without letting Longtail know. As Mousefur started to run, Longtail fumbled and sent them both tumbling onto the ground, rolling and kicking up dust. The clan let out_ mrrows_ of laughter.

"Nice job Longtail!" Mousefur spat good-humoredly.

"Well, you should have told me you were going to speed up!" Longtail retorted, laughing. Mousefur let out a purr. "Let's try again, but for now, we should stick to walking!" They got up and started again. Firestar snuck up behind them with Icekit and Foxkit in his mouth. He placed one on each back.

"There, now you can't fall, because if you do, the kits will as well." Mousefur's eyes widened with worry, but they continued to walk at an incredibly slow pace. The clan cheered for them as they nearly finished a round around the camp. They breathed out a sigh of relief as they finished with Icekit and Foxkit still safely on their back. Firestar trotted up behind them and took the two kits off their backs. They squealed with excitement and ran back to their mother.

"That was much better! The day's almost done, we can work on Leafpool's training now. She'll need someone to go against, Brightheart would you?" Firestar asked.

"I'd love to!'' Brightheart trotted to the center of the camp with Leafpool, who was carrying various herbs in her mouth. Leafpool set the herbs down near the entrance, so they would have to race to get the herbs.

"How 'bout we start with herb mixing? Your challenge is to mix traveling herbs." Leafpool nodded, it was one of the first things she had learned and taught Brightheart as well. Firestar drew a finish line with a stick. "Ready. Set. Go!" Firestar yowled. Leafpool and Brightheart ran to the two piles of herbs. Brightheart reached it first, and began rummaging through her pile of herbs. "Sorrel, Sorrel, Sorrel! Ha! I found it!" Brightheart exclaimed and continued rummaging. Shortly after, Leafpool reached her pile. She quickly found sorrel and chamomile. Then began searching for daisy and burnet. She found tansy, yarrow, and many other herbs except for the ones she needed. Leafpool looked over and saw Brightheart only needed one more herb to win. More urgently Leafpool began throwing around the herbs, hitting many cats, including Firestar, in the face with herbs. At last she found the last two herbs. Leafpool turned and ran to the finish line. She looked back and saw Brightheart running behind her, about to catch up. Leafpool leaped and crossed the finish line, with Brightheart behind her. Leafpool collapsed on the ground trying to catch her breath. Squirrelflight hurried over to her and Brightheart with a ball of soaked moss, giving them each some water to drink. It was starting to get dark as Firestar leaped up on the Highledge.

"Congratulations Leafpool, you have won. The day is now over, it was a great and fun day of training." Firestar meowed. In the crowd of cats, Brambleclaw yowled, "Huh!...FOR YOU!" Firestar narrowed his eyes and continued, "We will continue training tomorrow, so rest up! I expect you to work hard, because at the end of training, I will announce that cat who I thought worked the hardest, and they will get a prize! So go to your dens and prepare for some hard training tomorrow. WE BEGIN AT DAWN!" Firestar dramatically yowled to the sky, and retreated to his den, with a shake of his imaginary mane.

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**Firestar, so dramatic. Sorry I took so long to update, I'll try to take less time with the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 5: StarClan save us!

**Author's Note: Some of you are wondering if I have anything against Firestar, because he seems out of character in this story. I don't have anything against Firestar. I just always wished that Firestar could be a little less serious in the books, and that it would be funny if he unleashed his inner kit. :)**

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**Firestar POV:**

I walked out of my den the next morning to begin training for the kits._ I wonder how Jaykit has been getting along._ Just then I saw him scamper out of the nursery, tail waving in excitement, followed by his littermates and denmates. They looked more drowsy and tired.

I heard Lionkit mutter, "If this is what being a warrior feels like, I think I might pass." I let out a purr of amusement and walked down the rocks from my den to Lionkit. I rested my tail on his shoulder and meowed reassuringly, "You'll get used it. We'll get to practice for the relay race today, that will be fun." His only reply was a yawn. I looked to the horizon and saw the sun beginning to rise.

"We should get going now," I mewed realizing the mentors padding out of their dens.

*In the Forest*

"The majority of the games will be held at the Gathering place, where it is neutral territory. Despite the fact the relay race will be held there, we can train here for that. You can split up with your mentors to have some words of advice." I sat down and strained my ears to Jaykit and Longtail's conversation.

"So, the trick is to use your other senses to know your surroundings. You have to use your whiskers to know if you're going to crash into something. Now, in the race, there will be a piece of fresh-kill at the finish line. You must race to it, bring it back to where you started, and then run back to the finish line." Longtail meowed.

"Okay," I meowed, "we will now practice for the race. In the race, there will be a piece of fresh-kill at the finish line. You will race to it, bring it back to where you started, and then run back to the finish line. We have brought some mice to use for practice. Take your places." Lionkit guided Jaykit to the starting line with his tail, despite his refusing. "Ready. Set. Go!" All the kits took off. It started great at first. Lionkit was in the lead with Jaykit right behind him. Longtail was cheering loudly for Jaykit, who had just caught up to Lionkit. Just then, Jaykit started running at an angle so he rammed into Lionkit, who fell onto Hollykit, who fell onto the next, until the whole line of kits were down except Jaykit. He kept running, but just as he was about to reach the mouse, he smacked into a low hanging branch, and fell to the ground. I shook my head. _Oh dear, we have a lot of work to do._

"Listen up my faithful apprentices! Today, we'll be practicing for the race around the lake. The trick is to keep your strength up and leave no cat behind. You must return as one. This race may take more than one day, so you will need to know how to protect yourselves against other hostile things, you may have to fight the other clan apprentices as well. Leafpool is here today to teach you the basics of herbs." I nodded to my daughter, and she stepped forward.

"The most basic thing to remember is that if a cat is bleeding, use cobwebs to stop the bleeding. This," she hooked a leaf onto her claw, "is marigold. It can be used to stop infection. Horsetail can also be used for this purpose." She pushed a horsetail plant forward. She held up another leaf. "This is a dock leaf. It can be used for sore pads. Another important thing is that if a cat has eaten something bad or poison, you use yarrow to cause them to vomit up the poison. You chew up this leaf," she held up another leaf, "and get the sick cat to eat it."

"It looks tasty," Mousepaw scampered up to the leaf and put it in his mouth.

"Mousepaw no!" Too late. Mousepaw immediately vomited up chewed up parts of the leaf and some fresh-kill. I sighed. _StarClan save us all._

"My noble warriors! The time has come to practice for the triathlon! For the hunting portion, each cat must catch two pieces of any prey. After that they must climb a tree jump to the one next to it and climb back down. Then, you must swim across the river and race to the finish. We will practice our swimming today in the lake. Unfortunately, Stormfur is sick, so he can't teach us how to swim, and Brook won't leave his side. Now none of us know how to swim, so we will just have to experiment. Let's go carefully and cautiously." I slowly walked into the lake. Just then I heard a yowl and was pushed into the lake by Brambleclaw. I started flailing around, trying to stay afloat.

"I'll save you Firestar!" Cloudtail leaped on top of me, only to send us both back under water. I struggled back afloat._ Kill. Me. Now._

"Okay, it's time to train for identify the prey," I meowed, still wet, to Mousefur and Longtail. "Some cat please bring the prey!"

"Oh, sorry Firestar." Thornclaw burped. "I just ate the last piece." I glared at him. "Hey, I was hungry," he protested.

"Sure, because two mice and a chaffinch isn't enough. So you just had to eat the sparrow as well," Sorreltail teased, flicking his ear with her tail.

"Sorry Firestar, guess we'll have to wait till the next hunting patrol."_ I'm running out of reasons to stay calm._

"Leafpool, you're my only hope of winning this! Let's do some herb identifying." I meowed. Brightheart came next to me with a bundle of herbs in her mouth. She held up a green leaf.

"Marigold," Leafpool meowed without hesitation. "Tansy," she mewed after Brightheart held up another. "Horsetail. Burdock. Sorrel. Daisy. Burnet. Juniper. Watermint. Catmint. Yarrow." After Leafpool had answered them all correctly, Brightheart tested Leafpool on remedies.

"What do you use for shortness of breath?" she questioned.

"Juniper Berries," Leafpool mewed.

"For bellyache?"

"Watermint or Juniper." After Leafpool had answered all of the questions asked, I ran up to her, relieved, and nuzzled her. You're my favorite cat in the clan! Thank you for not being hopeless!"

"You're welcome," she meowed to me, whiskers twitching in amusement.

I sat down in defeat, "What am I going to do about the other cats? We still have such a long way to go." I sighed._ StarClan help us._


	7. Chapter 6: Let the Games Begin!

**Third Person POV:**

It was the night before the Warrior Cats Games. Firestar jumped onto the Highledge to make an announcement.

"This night marks the end of training for the Warrior Cats Games," Firestar's voice rang throughout the clearing. "It is time to pick a winner, for who I think worked the hardest throughout training. The winner will get to sleep in my den for a moon, and will get first pick of fresh-kill. The winner is….FIRESTAR! YAYY!" Meows of protest came from the cats below.

"How could you pick yourself?" Dustpelt protested.

"Did you really think that I was going to give up my den for a moon?" Firestar laughed.

"But you didn't do _anything_! All you did was sit in the corner and, "assessed" us," Brambleclaw mewed.

"Clan leader's word is law, according to the warrior code." Firestar meowed.

"Well then the warrior code is FOX-DUNG!" Spiderleg yowled.

Hollykit gasped, "_How_ could you say that!_ You're_ fox-dung for disrespecting the warrior code! You shall feel StarClan's wrath!"

"Hush! Respect your warriors!" Squirrelflight flicked her tail over Hollykit's mouth.

"Get some rest, the games will begin tomorrow. We will meet with the other clans at the gathering place. Be ready by dawn." Firestar retreated to his den.

At dawn, the cats filed out of their dens to the clearing. They made their way to the fresh-kill pile before they left.

"Wait!" Spiderleg yowled. "We have to wait for our noble clan leader. _He_ gets first pick from the pile, remember?" The clan groaned.

"Well too bad!" Dustpelt called. He picked up a sparrow at threw it, so it landed in Firestar's den. "There, _now_ we can eat!" The clan snickered. Just then Firestar came out of his den, his face twisted up with anger.

"Who hit me on the head with a sparrow?!" The clan backed away, leaving Dustpelt below the Highledge by himself. "You?"

"Sorry Firestar, but we were all hungry and you took too long to wake up."

"Well you're lucky then," Firestar sniffed. "I was going to pick out a sparrow anyways." He picked it up and went back to his den to eat.

After the clan had finished eating, they gathered in the camp to head to the gathering island. The air was still slightly chilly when Firestar made his way out of his den. He signaled with his tail for the clan to follow.

By the time ThunderClan reached the island, all of the other clans were waiting for them. Firestar jumped onto the tree beside the other leader, where he could survey the games with them.

"We will begin with the kits," Blackstar began. "The first game will be play fighting. This will be claws sheathed, but like a real battle. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!" he yowled.

**Jaykit POV:**

We all sprang at each other, while the other cats shuffled back to watch. I felt a paw about to swipe at my ear. I ducked, rolled under their belly, and rammed my paws on it, sending them flying. Unfortunately, just then, a cat sprang onto my back, and gripped it with sheathed claws. I tried to squirm out of their grip, but it was impossible.

**Lionkit POV:**

I sprang at a kit from RiverClan, gripping her back with sheathed claws until she begged to be let go. Sneering, I jumped off and saw Jaykit struggling with another kit. I snuck up behind them and knocked the cat off of him. She jumped on me and pinned me to the ground. I went limp, and she loosened her grip. I leaped up, but before I could pin her, she rolled away and fled. I looked around and saw that I was the only cat left from my clan along with Hollykit. There weren't many cats left from the other clans, but enough to overpower us. _We're crow-food._ Two ShadowClan kits sprang at Hollykit, I turned to help her, but was dragged back by my tail. I turned to find myself facing three Riverclan cats. I swiped at one's head, and while they were stunned, I leaped onto the second and pushed him away, sending him barreling into two WindClan cats. The third cat fled in fear. I looked around for Hollykit, only to find that she had fled as well. I was the only cat left from my clan. _Fox-dung._

"Lionkit, retreat!" Brambleclaw shouted to me.

"Never!" I snarled back. I was not going to let some other clan hunt in my territory. The rest of the battle went by in a blur, but all I remember was laying down on the ground, exhaustion overwhelming me. My mother ran to me with a soaked moss-ball.

"What happened?" I murmured.

"You won," she whispered, with pride in her voice. "You beat them all."

"What's Firestar doing?" I asked when I saw Firestar drawing a line with a stick.

"The leaders are keeping count of wins. Firestar is drawing a line because Thunderclan has won one game." She held the water to my lips, and I drank from it gratefully. When I drank as much as I wanted, I got up and slowly padded back to where my clan was gathered. Meows of congratulations surrounded me, while Jaykit and Hollykit came up to me and nuzzled me proudly. Firestar came and licked the top of my head.

"You did a good job today, well done," he meowed.

"Th-thank you!" I stammered in surprise.

"Rest awhile, there's a bit of time before catch the moss ball starts."

"If all kits will gather around for catch the moss-ball. The rules for the game are simple. The kits will gather with their own clan's kits. They must throw the moss-ball around in a circle. If the moss-ball has touched the floor, that clan is out," Leopardstar announced.

I gathered with my den-mates in a circle. When we were handed the moss-ball, I said to my den-mates, "I have an idea. How about, before we throw the ball to a certain cat, we call their name, so that they know to catch the ball." They nodded in response. I picked up the ball with my claw, "Hollykit!" I shouted, and threw the ball to her. She caught it in her teeth and hurled it at Icekit, after shouting her name. Icekit easily caught it and threw it to Jaykit, who raced to get it. As he tried to hook a claw through it, he missed by a whisker. Before it could fall to the ground I ran and caught it in my teeth.

"Foxkit!" I shouted and threw it at him. Foxkit leaped up and hooked it with his claw. By now there was only our clan and Shadowclan left. He threw it to Icekit, who caught it and threw it to Hollykit. Hollykit took a deep breath and after shouting his name, she threw it to Jaykit. Jaykit raced to get it, but when he was about to clamp his teeth on it, he tripped and fell. My den-mates groaned in disappointment. When I looked over to the Shadowclan group I heard them all congratulating a single kit. I pricked my ears to hear what they were saying.

"Quick thinking," they murmured. "Thunderclan kits are probably so dumb, they probably won't realize that you tripped that helpless kit," they laughed. I walked over to Hollykit.

"I heard Shadowclan talking. They tripped Jaykit on purpose, so he would miss it!" Hollykit let out a gasp of disbelief.

"He probably would have missed it anyways!" Foxkit huffed.

"Oh, like you're so great. You can't even catch whitecough!" Hollykit retorted.

"I could too!" Foxkit whined. I snickered as Hollykit and I made our way to Jaykit.

"I didn't miss the ball! One of the kits tripped me!" Jaykit meowed.

"We know," I rested my tail comfortingly on his shoulder. "I heard them talking and congratulating the kit. They really are fox-hearted cats." I meowed when I say Blackstar drawing a line, symbolizing a win for his clan.

"It is now time for the relay race!" Onestar announced. "For this relay race, the kits will have to start at that line Firestar is drawing," he beckoned with his tail to where Firestar was drawing a long line with a stick. "They will then have to race to a mouse, there is one for each cat, and bring it back to the beginning line. We all took our places at the line.

"Ready. Set. Go!"

I ran as fast as I could. The mouse was only about seven fox-lengths away from the starting line. I looked around and saw Jaykit running confidently. A Windclan she- kit was a few fox-lengths ahead of me. I put all of my energy into running and grabbed the mouse shortly after the she-kit. I turned and ran back to the line, putting my very last bit of energy into the race. When I was about to catch up to her, a Riverclan kit rammed into me, sending me tumbling, and allowing Windclan to win the race. Onestar happily raced over a drew a line with the stick, showing his win. I walked over to my littermates.

"Did you see what happened? A Riverclan kit rammed into me, and let Windclan win! But I don't understand, why would they be helping each other?" My littermates just shrugged in response. "Something's up, and I'm going to find out what happened."


	8. Chapter 7: Sabatoge!

**Third Person POV:**

"If the apprentices will now gather around, it is time for the fighting. Claws will be sheathed but, again, it will be like a real battle." The apprentices made their way to the center.

"Ready. Set. Go!" The apprentices sprang at each other, knocking each other over. Screeches of fury were in the air, with fur flying everywhere. Cinderpaw was grappling with Owlpaw. Poppypaw turned and grabbed Owlpaw by the scruff and dragged him off of of her littermate. Ivypaw, of Shadowclan, grabbed Poppypaw's tail and bit down, hard, causing her to let go of Owlpaw. Suddenly, as if something had possessed them, the apprentices of all the other clans attacked ThunderClan. They outnumbered them, causing ThunderClan to retreat. The other clans then turned on each other, but as Lionkit looked closely, he realized that ShadowClan and Windclan weren't trying to beat RiverClan. Their blows weren't powerful, and neither were their swipes. It was almost as if they wanted RiverClan to win. In the end, they retreated, leaving RiverClan as the winner. _That was odd._ Then he realized,_ Now all the clans have won one game. WindClan and ShadowClan made sure that RiverClan had won this round. They were quick to get us out of the battle too, almost as if they've formed an alliance._ Before he could say anything, Leopardstar announced the next round, hunting.

"The apprentices will have to catch one fish, two mice, and one rabbit. Then they must return as a clan to gathering island. First group back wins." At her nod, the apprentices raced off.

**Cinderpaw POV:**

I followed my denmates into the forest. We decided to fish first, so we headed to RiverClan territory, where there would be plenty of fish. I leaned over the water, and as soon as I saw a fish, I reached my paw out of the water, scooped up a fish, and quickly killed it. I sat there waiting with my fish, for my denmates to finish as well. By now, all of us had finished, except for Poppypaw. Just as she was about to scoop up a fish, a Windclan cat ran by, "tripped" and knocked Poppypaw into the river. She yowled in surprise before she went under.

"You guys keep hunting," I ordered my denmates, "Honeypaw and I will try to rescue her." They raced off to the forest, while Honeypaw and I raced after Poppypaw. Without thinking, I leaped into the water. I struggled to untangle my legs and stay afloat. Honeypaw yowled after me. I wailed in fear, only to get a mouthful of water. I went under again. _Swimming's just like running, right? Except in the water._ I tried to imagine myself on the cool grass of the forest floor. I moved my legs, to find myself surfacing. I took a gulp of air, and tried again, and found that I was moving. I was swimming!

"Cinderpaw! You-you're swimming!" Honeypaw gasped in disbelief. I didn't look at her or respond. My concentration was to get to my littermate. I finally reached her and grabbed her scruff, but Poppypaw's weight pulled her under. I struggled to surface and found a large stick jutting out. I sank my claws into it and heaved myself and Poppypaw up. Honeypaw raced over and grabbed her scruff and pulled her ashore. I followed, clawing my way up the branch, and collapsed on the grass, coughing up water. I looked over to Poppypaw, and found her motionless. I desperately ran over to find Honeypaw standing there, not doing anything, in shock.

"Start licking her fur the wrong way!" I snapped. She blinked slowly at me, as if she didn't understand, then slowly lowered her head and started to lick Poppypaw. After a few moments, Poppypaw jerked, vomiting up water. She lay there gasping for breath, while Honeypaw and I continued to lick her. Just then our denmates came racing back, each with four mice and two rabbits.

"We caught your fresh-kill too! Is Poppypaw okay?" Hazelpaw asked breathlessly. I nodded miserably.

"Some Windclan cat pushed me into the river!" Poppypaw managed to choke out.

"Come on, we'd better be heading back." Berrypaw murmured. We all trudged back to the island, supporting Poppypaw. By the time we made it back, the other clan's apprentices had already made it back. Firestar ran over to us and gasped when he saw Poppypaw, wet and shivering.

"What happened?" Our clan crowded around us.

"A W-WindC-Clan cat pushed me into the river!" Poppypaw stuttered.

"Is this true?" Firestar swung around to face Onestar.

"No Firestar," A small Windclan cat meowed. "I tripped, and bumped into Poppypaw. I really didn't mean to!"

"When hedgehogs fly!" I snorted. The apprentice bared his teeth and snarled at me. I unsheathed my claws and dug them into the ground.

"Stop!" Firestar commanded. "This is not the will of StarClan!"

"Oh how do you know it's not the will of StarClan, kittypet!" Rowanclaw snarled. "Did StarClan itself come down from the skies and tell you? Oh wait, I forgot! You are the greatest cat to roam the world! You know everything without having to be told! You-"

"Stop, Rowanclaw!" Blackstar cut him off. "This is supposed to be a time of peace!" He fixed Rowanclaw with a glare. Rowanclaw nodded knowingly, as if they had just shared an unspoken conversation.

"Perhaps we should all take a rest before the final apprentice game," Onestar suggested. The other leaders nodded and jumped off the tree. The cats split up with their clans, fur bristling.

**Lionkit POV:**

I stayed behind from the rest of the clan and hid behind the bushes to where ShadowClan had gathered. Something had gone on when Blackstar scolded Rowanclaw, and I was going to find out. I crouched, hidden from sight, and pricked my ears.

"We're telling you Blackstar! We are not going to sabotage ThunderClan!" Cedarheart, a Shadowclan elder, stood with a few more of his clanmates, confronting Blackstar.

"They've never done us any harm! Sure, battles happen, but they're a part of clan life! This is supposed to be an enjoyable time and you are turning it into a battle of pride!" Tawnypelt snarled.

"Don't you understand?!" Blackstar yowled, sliding his claws out. I tensed, ready to leap if Blackstar attacked. _Wait, I'm just a kit, I wouldn't be able to take on a clan leader!_ "The winning clan will get to hunt in other territories. Green-leaf is almost over, do you want your clanmates to starve?! Or are you more loyal to your birth clan than your real clan?" Blackstar questioned.

"We've survived leaf-fall and leaf-bare before, why not this time?" Snowbird retorted.

"You do what you want Blackstar, but if you think we will follow these mouse-brained orders, you're dumber than a fox!" Tallpoppy huffed and pointedly turned her back on Blackstar and walked away, snatching up some fresh-kill. Blackstar growled with frustration and began to walk back to his followers, hackles raised. A leaf tickled my nose, causing me to sneeze. Blackstar growled softly and looked in my direction. I quickly backed away, turned, and raced back to where my clan was gathered.

"Lionkit, where have you been?" Firestar question, as I bumped into him.

"Shadowclan are trying to sabotage us so they can win!" I puffed.

"What? No, I won't believe it!"

"Well believe it!"

"No, Blackstar may be proud, but he would not do this. Perhaps you just misheard!" Firestar meowed.

"No," I meowed desperately. "I heard it!"

"No," he repeated more firmly. "It's time for the race around the lake. Don't run off next time without letting someone know in the future." I miserably followed the rest of the clan to the center of the island.

"The winner of the hunting task is RiverClan." Leopardstar drew a line in the ground, to show that she had won. "It is now time for the final apprentice task. A race around the whole lake. First group to make it back to the gathering island wins." The apprentices gathered with their denmates and formed a line. "Ready. Set. Go!" They raced off, across the tree-bridge, gone from sight.

**Cinderpaw POV:**

All the apprentices raced to the tree-bridge. We got there first. I nosed Poppypaw up the tree first, then followed. As we got closer to land, the tree began to get thinner, so I had to slow my pace. I looked behind and saw the other clans gaining on us. Afraid that they would try to push my denmates in the water, I leaped the last fox-length off the bridge and turned to help my other denmates. Once we had all gotten off, we raced into RiverClan territory. We ran as fast as we could along the warm grass until we came to a river.

"I can't see any stepping stones," Berrypaw meowed. "We're going to have to swim across." Berrypaw padded to the river and hesitantly dipped a paw in. "Ooh! It's cold!" He complained. I looked down the river and saw RiverClan already on the other side of the river, now in the lead. ShadowClan were confidently swimming in the river, with WindClan right behind them. _How did they learn to swim so well?_ Berrypaw was still hesitating about swimming. _We're going to lose this race!_

"Oh for StarClan's sake!" I pushed Berrypaw into the river. He yowled in surprise and started flailing around. "Swim mouse-brain, swim!" I yowled at him. By some miracle, he struggled afloat, and more or less, began to swim. "You too! Go, go, go!" I shouted at my denmates. One by one, they leaped into the river and struggled across, followed by me. We all finally reached the other side of the river, but not fast enough. The other three clans were still very far ahead of us.

"Come one! Let's go!" Honeypaw urged. Shortly after we began to run again, Poppypaw let out a squeak of pain. I groaned, "What now?"

"I trod on a stone!" she wailed.

"Let me see," I sighed. She held up her paw, and I touched my nose to it. It was hot, swollen, and bleeding a bit. "Right then, some cat get me cobwebs and some dock and marigold leaves for infection and to help her dry pads. Poppypaw, you go to the river and dip your paw into it, it'll stop the swelling." I expected them to race off and do what they had been told, but they just stared at me in shock. I felt uncomfortable, ears growing hot. "What?" I retorted.

"How? You sound like-like a medicine cat!" Honeypaw whispered.

"What? I dunno, I guess I just payed attention when Leafpool taught us about herbs," I mumbled. They just shrugged and went off to find the herbs. Poppypaw made her way to the river and let out a sigh of relief, when the cool water ran over her paw. After a while, my denmates came back, with herbs in their mouths and Mousepaw covered in cobwebs.

"You look like a cloud!" I purred in amusement.

"Well excuse me, you ungrateful cat! I was just trying to help!" Mousepaw retorted good-humoredly.

"Mhm," I teased. I made my way to him and took a pawful of cobwebs off of him, and took some of the herbs in my mouth.

"Poppypaw!" I called. she limped to me. The bleeding had stopped, but I licked her paw clean of dried blood and chewed up the docks and marigold, spitting the poultice onto her paw. I covered her paw in cobwebs to hold the pulp to her paw. "Are you well enough to continue?" I asked. She nodded. We began to walk through RiverClan territory, with Poppypaw slowly limping behind us._ At the rate we're moving, it'll take ages to get back! The other apprentices are probably in Shadowclan territory already._

"Can't we go any faster?" Hazelpaw whined.

"No," I told her, "we can't leave anyone behind, and Poppypaw can only manage to walk right now."

"Huh!" she flicked her tail crossly and went to the front next to Berrypaw. Why does Berrypaw get to lead? He's not that great and he's only three moons older than me.

"Isn't Berrypaw so great? He's just like a natural leader." Honeypaw sighed. _Ugh, and then there's my sister, who moons over him as if he was sent from StarClan himself._ We stopped on the path when it split into two.

"We'd better go on that one, it's probably a shortcut." Berrypaw pointed with his tail toward the more steep path, filled with brambles.

"Are you kidding? I don't know about you, but I'd rather keep my pelt on!" I meowed.

"Cinderpaw, just listen to him!" Honeypaw mewed.

"Fine! We must after all, obey the noble_ Berrystar_!" I retorted.

"Cinderpaw!" Honeypaw scolded. I rolled my eyes. Whatever. _This is going to be a long trip. StarClan help me._

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about not updating sooner, but school has started, so updates will be less frequent.**


	9. Chapter 8: Romance

**Cinderpaw POV:**

We finally crossed into ShadowClan territory. I sniffed the ground. Just as I suspected, the other three clans had been here long before we had.  
"We should rest now, it's getting dark," I suggested.  
"But, there's still light, we can keep going!'' Berrypaw protested.  
"But if we rest now, we can get up earlier and get a head start from the other clans. Besides, Poppypaw needs to rest her paw, it's started throbbing again!" I growled.  
He took a step towards me, fur bristling, "How do you know what's best for her? You're not a medicine cat!"  
"Well, it's not like you knew how to fix her paw! You're only three moons older me! You're not exactly a senior apprentice! Who appointed you leader?!" I snarled back. He growled and hissed in my face, before whipping around and stalking back to a shelter underneath some bushes, with Honeypaw racing after him. The other cats reluctantly followed, with me trailing behind. I curled up on a soft patch of grass, a little way away from the rest. I closed my eyes, willing sleep to take over, but it didn't. I sighed and wandered outside, looking up at Silverpelt.  
"Hi," Mousepaw's voice sounded behind me. I jumped, startled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized. I simply looked away, wrapping my tail around my paws. "Sorry about Berrypaw," he continued. I turned to look at him.  
"You don't have to apologize for him. It's just, he can just, be so-"  
"I know what you mean." He took a step toward me. "Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked. I nodded, shyly. We walked, side by side, towards the lake and sat. I looked at him, at the starlight reflecting in his eyes. _Would we ever be more than friends?_  
"Cinderpaw," Mousepaw broke the silence. "I know we're best friends, but, lately, I've been thinking…" he paused.  
"Yes?" I urged.  
"I-I've been thinking if we could ever be more than friends." I blinked at him, processing what he had just said. _He feels the same way!_ He looked away quickly, embarrassed, as I had not said anything yet.  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I guess I just-sorry." he stammered. He shifted away from me a few inches.  
"You're such a mouse-brain sometimes," I meowed to him. I shifted closer to him and leaned my head on his chest. I felt him stiffen. _What did I do?_ As I was about to pull away, he relaxed and rested his head on mine.

I was being shaken awake.  
"You dozed off, " Mousepaw murmured to me. I scrambled up and shook the grass from my pelt.  
"Sorry," I apologized.  
"It's okay, do you want to head back now?" he asked.  
I shook my head. "I don't want to wake up to Berrypaw giving out orders," I grumbled.  
"He's not that bad you know," Mousepaw reasoned, laying down.  
"Yeah, compared to a badger," I mumbled. He smiled as I curled up beside him.  
"Good night Mousepaw."  
" Night Cinderpaw," he murmured. He began to wash my fur, washing off the dirt that was stuck to my pelt. I sighed, and let the rhythmic strokes of his tongue lull me to sleep.

I woke up to the light breeze tickling my nose, it was almost dawn. I nudged Mousepaw.  
"Wake up, it's nearly dawn." I meowed. He slowly stirred and stretched. He sat up and began to hastily wash his pelt. "Do you want to hunt?" I asked. He nodded, and followed me into the trees. I quickly saw a rabbit a couple fox-lengths away. Signaling to Mousepaw to stay still, I began to stalk it, moving quickly and silently. As I was about to pounce, my tail brushed a leaf, distracting the rabbit from eating, and causing it to run. Before it could run far, Mousepaw chased after it, quickly killing before it could make a sound.  
"Nice catch!" I meowed to him, running over to him. He let out a purr and buried it, before following me deeper into the forest.

By the time we finished hunting, it was after dawn, and we were heading back to our denmates with a rabbit and two mice.  
"There you are!" Hazelpaw ran up to us, panting. "Where have you been? We've been looking for you everywhere!"  
"We couldn't sleep, so we decided to go hunting." I shrugged, as if it were no big deal.  
"Well next time, don't go wandering off without telling me first, " Berrypaw mewed briskly. I walked over and dropped the fresh-kill at his paws.  
"Sorry," I muttered and bowed my head mockingly. He huffed and walked away.  
"He's right you know," Honeypaw mewed behind me. _Of course he is!_ Her tongue rasped over my ear. "We were worried about you. You never know what the other clans could do!"  
"I suppose," I sighed in defeat. "But he doesn't have to act like he's made of stars!" Honeypaw flicked her tail over my ears in sympathy. "Berrypaw! Should we be going now?" He grunted in response and raced to the front, leading the way out of ShadowClan territory. I slowed, falling into step beside Mousepaw, who was at the back. He looked at me and entwined his tail with mine. I let out a purr, and he licked the top of my head. Honeypaw looked back at us. We quickly snatched out tails away before Honeypaw raced over to me. Mousepaw raced ahead.  
"So, that's how the prey's running?" My littermate meowed teasingly to me.  
"What do you mean?" I asked, my ear tips growing hot.  
"You know what I mean! So, you and Mousepaw! That's adorable!" I rolled my eyes, and ran to catch up with my other denmates, who were already across the border and in ThunderClan territory. I was grateful to feel the solid grass beneath my paws instead of the soft, marshy ground in ShadowClan territory. Though we were finally halfway around the lake, the other clans were probably still far ahead of us. Just then, I heard a yowl of all raced to see what it was, and saw Owlpaw of ShadowClan stuck in a patch of brambles.  
"I told you to be careful! Now we're not going to win!" Ivypaw snarled.  
"Sorry! I didn't see the bramble!" Owlpaw whined.  
"Having trouble?" I taunted them as we raced past them, tails twitching in amusement.  
"That's ShadowClan taken care of!" Poppypaw _mrrowed_ in amusement.  
"Let's hurry up before they catch up to us," I meowed. As we were running, I noticed Honeypaw whispering in Hazelpaw's ear._ Oh StarClan, is she telling her about me and Mousepaw?_ Suddenly Hazelpaw came trotting to me.  
"So, you and my brother, hmm?" Hazelpaw's tail twitched in excitement.  
"I don't know what you mean, we're just friends!" I protested.  
"Not according to Honeypaw! Maybe I'll ask Mousepaw!" she meowed.  
"All right! Fine, I won't deny it now!"  
"Great!" she squealed. "Wait 'till I tell Berrypaw!"  
"Wait, don't!" I yowled at her, but it was too late, she was already talking to Berrypaw and Poppypaw. Berrypaw suddenly shot me a look pure hatred. Hazelpaw noticed too, and she slapped him with her tail, hard. I snickered and ran to Mousepaw.  
"At this rate, the whole clan will know about us!" I meowed to him.  
"Is that a bad thing?" he asked, slightly worried.  
I blinked at him, "Of course not." I entwined my tail with his, and he let out a purr so loud, all our denmates looked at us. I noticed Honeypaw walking close to Berrypaw, their pelts brushing. She whispered something in his ear, and he looked at her affectionately._ When did that happen? All those days of secretly mooning over him to me is gone now. Thank StarClan._

We were finally out of WindClan territory, almost at the gathering place. When we reached the fallen tree leading to the island, Mousepaw stopped and looked at me.  
"This was the best trip I've ever been on, not that I've been on many, but still." he meowed awkwardly. I smiled at him and gazed into his eyes.  
"Hey! Lovebirds! We have to walk across the tree, unless you can fly there!" Poppypaw meowed in amusement. We jumped onto the tree and raced to the island. We found WindClan already there, and to our surprise, ShadowClan.  
"But we were ahead of ShadowClan! How could they get here before us!" Berrypaw protested. It was just then that I noticed their pelts were slightly damp.  
"They swam here! They didn't go all the way around the lake!" I yowled.  
"Don't say such lies! My apprentices don't cheat!" Blackstar snarled.  
"But you can see their fur, it's was wet!"  
"You're just seeing things, my clan has won this round," Blackstar meowed. Before I could reply, he drew a line in the ground for his win.  
"We can rest before it is time for the warrior's activities," Firestar announced before he jumped off the tree branch._ How can he be okay with this?_ He beckoned with his tail for the clan to follow him.  
"The warriors should practice, we can't afford to lose anymore," Firestar instructed.  
"How can you be okay with this?" I blurted out. He looked at me in confusion.  
"W-with them cheating, they're obviously cheating!" I tried to convince him.  
"I won't believe that, the other leaders would not do such a thing. I will not believe it, until I have proof."  
"But you do have proof!" I protested.  
"Enough! I won't listen to this anymore. Now, you've wasted precious practicing time. It's time to gather for the warrior tasks. Maybe next time you'll behave yourself and learn to hold your tongue." He stalked away, leaving me standing there miserable. Mousepaw came next to me and rasped his tongue over my ears.  
"It'll be okay," he meowed comfortingly._ It'd better._

* * *

**A/N: I decided for some romance between Cinderpaw and Mousepaw. This is before she and Lionblaze. Sorry this chapter was so dramatic, I'll try to make the next one more humorous! :)**


	10. Chapter 9: Prey-stealers!

**Brambleclaw POV:**

"The tasks for the warriors begin now. The first task will be fighting, claws will be sheathed, but it's every clan for themselves," Blackstar announced. He, Onestar, and Leopardstar looked at each other, with a gaze that was hard to read._ That's odd_. We padded to the centre, crouched, ready to spring.

"Ready. Set. Attack!" In less than a heartbeat, all the cats were wrestling with one another. I sprang onto Oakfur, pinning him down. He snarled in frustration and struggled in my grip. I nipped his forepaw, and delivered a blow to his head with sheathed claws. He suddenly rammed his hind paws into my belly sending me flying into Dustpelt, who was grappling with Smokefoot. I quickly scrambled up and charged at Oakfur again. Before I could spring, I was dragged back my tail. I whipped around to see who attacked me, and saw Rippletail, a young warrior. I easily batted him away with a paw and turned back around to see Cloudtail pinned to the ground by Blackclaw. I let out a yowl and flung myself onto Blackclaw, ripping him off Cloudtail. Cloudtail nodded his thanks before returning to battle. I felt a heavy weight jump onto my back, squishing me to the ground. Gasping for breath, I managed to flip over and push him off with my hind legs. He let out a yowl of surprise as he hit the ground. Tornear! He scrambled back up and quickly darted behind me, but before I could turn around, he knocked my paws out from under me, pinning me to the ground. I went limp, hoping he would loosen his grip, he did. I rolled over, taking him with me, and while he was dazed, I swatted him away with my paw, sending him running away. I looked around and saw RiverClan, WindClan, and most of ShadowClan had retreated, leaving just a couple ShadowClan warriors, who eventually retreated when they saw they were outnumbered. Cloudtail let out a yowl of triumph, as the warriors ran away.

"The winner of this task is ThunderClan!" Blackstar dipped his head toward Firestar, before he drew a line in the ground for his win. He jumped off the tree and led us to our corner of the island.

"That was well fought! The next task is hunting!" Firestar's eyes glittered with excitement. "You each must catch one fish, squirrel, mouse, and frog. Let's practice catching frogs."

"I'll be the frog!" Foxkit squealed. He started leaping around, Icekit chasing after him. She pounced onto him, pinning him down.

"Hey!" Foxkit squeaked. They both wrestled for, playfully growling. Ferncloud let out a purr of amusement, sitting next her mate. Dustpelt walked over to them and gently pawed them apart.

"Enough play now," he mewed gently, giving each an affectionate lick on the head. The kits looked up and saw Firestar looking at them.

"Sorry Firestar!" Icekit squeaked in embarrassment. Firestar let out a purr, and flicked their ears lightly with his tail. The kits scampered back to their parents, happily.

"Let's head back now, it's time for the next task!" Firestar rose and led us back to the centre, where the other clans were gathered already.

"It's time for the hunting task now. Each cat must catch one fish, one squirrel, one mouse, and one frog. Ready. Set. Go!" We all raced to the tree bridge, but instead of jumping onto the tree, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan all jumped into the lake, and began paddling to RiverClan territory. How did they learn to swim?! I launched myself onto the bridge, racing to get ahead of the other warriors in the water. I looked back to see my denmates following as well as I leaped onto the shore of RiverClan territory. I stood there, panting.

"Brambleclaw, watch out!" I turned at Spiderleg's yowl, barely having time to blink, before he rammed into me. _Ow_. Spiderleg scrambled off of me.

"Sorry Brambleclaw! Are you okay?" Spiderleg asked urgently, the rest of my denmates gathering around me. _Why must everything happen to me?_

"Brambleclaw? Are you okay?" Squirrelflight, my mate, asked me, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Ugh, it's not funny!" I groaned, having myself off the ground. I crouched, my head hurting like crazy. Everything was blurry, and I couldn't think straight. My thoughts jumbled up. I sat down, I felt…happy. I giggled.

"Are you okay? Can you walk?" Sandstorm asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, yeah." I started to walk, still dazed, my paws all going in different directions. "Are you sure? We can rest for a while…" Dustpelt meowed.

"I'm fine!" I looked back at them. I chuckled to myself._ Everyone cares so much! Life..._ I turned my head forward, right before I rammed into a tree_…is fox dung_. Squirrelflight raced to me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She mewed in amusement. _Ugh, my head_. _What is my life?_

"Yeah, you guys go ahead, I'll catch up in a moment!"

"Brambleclaw…"

"Go! I'm fine." _I'm not fine_.

"If you're sure…" Squirrelflight meowed, unsure. I nodded. She shrugged and signaled to the rest to move on. I slowly got up and tried to get to the stream. Nope, not going to work. I flopped back down, and pathetically tried to slide on my belly to the steam. I finally got there next to my denmates. _Oh look! A fish!_ I scooped it up and sent it flying; it hit Dustpelt. _Oops_. The fish lay stunned on the ground, until Dustpelt killed it. _That's my fish caught, maybe I'll just close my eyes for a while, until the rest have caught a fish._

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

I awoke, to feeling very cold and wet, headache gone. I looked around and saw I was laying in a stream, my denmates gathered around me, tails twitching in amusement. I. Am. Wet. I stood up and leaped out of the stream. I shook my fur, purposely getting my denmates wet.

"Sorry Brambleclaw, but you wouldn't wake up!" Sorreltail mrrowed, as she shrank back from the water droplets. "We caught your squirrel for you…" her voice trailed off.

"Fine...let's keep going then," I grumbled. My denmates followed me.

"Cheer up, Brambleclaw! We're just having fun!" Squirrelflight trotted up to me.

"I suppose…" I sighed. She pressed her muzzle against mine. I spotted the border of ShadowClan territory, and raced towards it, hoping the run would help dry off my fur. I saw a leaf move and saw a frog hopping around, oblivious to the cats near it. I dropped into a crouch. Keeping light on my paws, I darted towards it. Just a I was about to pounce, it hopped away from me, towards Squirrelflight. Before it could escape, she killed it with a bite to its neck.

"Yuck! This tastes foul!" She flicked her tongue like an adder, attempting to get rid of the taste. I purred in amusement and followed her.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

By the time we caught another frog, my denmates had as well. We began to scour around the territory for mice.

"Let's head towards the clearing near the Twoleg Nest," I suggested. They followed me.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

I quickly spotted some mice. I crouched down and began to creep forward, once I was close enough, I pounced, killing it quickly. I headed back. Once we had all caught our mice, we began to race back to the gathering island, picking up our buried fresh-kill on the way. When we got to the RiverClan border, where we buried our fish and squirrels, we noticed they were gone. We sniffed around, in case we misplaced them. They were nowhere to be found.

"Hey guys! There's WindClan scent all over where our fresh-kill was!" Sorreltail called. I ran over to her, she was right.

"Come on, we don't have time for this. Let's just catch some more fish and hurry."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

We were nearly at the tree-bridge.

"Hey! What if we try to swim to the island? Won't it be faster?" Spiderleg asked. Without asking, he turned toward the lake, and bunched up his hindquarters, about to leap in. Before I could grab him, he jumped into the lake and began paddling to the Gathering island.

"Come on, he'll be fine, let's keep going," Sandstorm whispered in my ear. With one last glance, I called to him, "Can you make it on your own?!"

He glanced back, already halfway to the island, "I_ think_ I can, seeing that I've already made it this far." I rolled my eyes._ Cheeky warrior_. I began to lead my denmates back to the island. By the time we got to the tree-bridge, and crossed it, Spiderleg was standing there, damp, waiting for us.

"I told you it would be faster," he grinned as I approached him.

``Let's not waste time, come on,'' I panted. He turned and ran into the island, to the circle of the awaiting cats.

"Fox-dung! We didn't get here first!" Spiderleg complained.

"Well obviously! With Brambleclaw snoring like a hedgehog, and our fresh-kill being stolen, we couldn't exactly win!" Sorreltail retorted.

"You're right…" I sighed. "Hey! I DO NOT snore like a hedgehog!" I complained after a moment's thought.

"Are you kidding? We're lucky the trees didn't fall down from all that rumbling!" Squirrelflight _mrrowed_. I playfully shoved her, and she nudged me with her head, affectionately.

"The winner of this task, is WindClan!" Blackstar yowled. Yowls of protest came from me and my denmates. 'That's not fair!' 'They cheated!'

"Do you care to explain?" Onestar asked, innocently.

I stood up, "When we went to get our buried prey, it was gone, and there was WindClan scent all over it!"

"Is this true?" Onestar feigning a gasp, asking his warriors.

"Of course not! Some animal must have taken it. They are only lying to protect what little pride they have left," Crowfeather sniffed in pity.

"Crowfeather, that's not true!" Leafpool sprang up.

"Leafpool, do not speak out of turn!" Firestar scolded sternly. She sat back down, head down like a scolded kit. My heart ached for her. No cat can control their feelings.

"Firestar, if my warriors say they didn't cheat, then they didn't cheat," Onestar meowed.

"I believe you." Firestar dipped his head and sprang off the tree, motioning for the clan to follow him. _What! He's just going to let Onestar get away with it?_ Before I could move, Lionkit stepped in front of me.

"Brambleclaw? Is it true WindClan stole your fresh-kill?" he asked me.

"Yes, now come on!" I snapped at him, still cranky about the situation.

"Brambleclaw!" Sorreltail scolded behind me.

"Sorry Lionkit, I'm just having a bad day…" I grumbled and stalked past him.

"Lionkit, what did you want to say?" I heard Sorreltail ask Lionkit gently behind me.

"I wanted to say that I think ShadowClan is cheating too." I stopped in my tracks. What? I walked back to Lionkit.

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

"W-well, I heard Tawnypelt, and some other ShadowClan cats talking to Blackstar. They were saying things like, they refuse to help him cheat and stuff. I ran away before he saw me," Lionkit stammered. My eyes widened in disbelief.

"Brambleclaw? Are you okay?" Lionkit asked in concern.

"Are you telling the truth?" Sorreltail asked Lionkit.

"Yes! Why won't anyone believe me?" Lionkit wailed. I licked the top of his head.

"I believe you Lionkit, well done." I praised him. He brightened at that.

"But Firestar won't believe me," Lionkit's shoulders sagged again.

"Well I do, and we'll try to convince him together." I rested my muzzle on his head.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! There's so much work and studying to do. On top of that, I have a big procrastinating problem. Sorry! :)**


	11. Chapter 10: LOVE!

**Third Person POV:**

_"I believe you Lionkit, well done." I praised him. He brightened at that._

_"But Firestar won't believe me," Lionkit's shoulders sagged again._

_"Well I do, and we'll try to convince him together." I rested my muzzle on his head._

"Great!" Lionkit jumped up and ran to where the clan was gathered.

"He really is a wonderful kit…" Sorreltail murmured, making me jump.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were still there…you're right, he's so bright." Brambleclaw meowed.

"He'll make a wonderful warrior," she mewed. Brambleclaw turned to look at her.

"It seems like I'm a terrible father though," he sighed.

"You are most definitely not! He looks up to you so much! You should hear him boast about you all day! You're an amazing father!"

"Thanks Sorreltail…" Brambleclaw mumbled, embarrassed by her praise. She let out a purr and walked past him, flicking his ear with her tail as she did. He followed the pretty tortoiseshell to where the clan was gathered.

Firestar was already meowing to the warriors, "Swimming is our biggest problem. As you can see, the other three clans know how to swim very well. Now, as we can tell from Spiderleg's coat, he knows how to swim very well." A ripple of amusement ran through the cats. Firestar got up and sat on the edge, near the lake.

"Now, in order to practice, we-" Before Firestar could finish, Brambleclaw ran up and pushed Firestar into the lake.

"That's my revenge for what you did during training sessions!" he yowled, waiting for Firestar to resurface. Firestar struggled up, splashing and spluttering.

"I can't swim you mouse-brain!" Firestar yowled before he went under again. Brambleclaw panicked. _Oops! I should go save him..._He leaped into the lake after Firestar. Kicking his legs to stay afloat, Brambleclaw searched the waters for Firestar, who was nowhere to be found.

"Firestar!" he yowled in alarm. Just then, Firestar shot out of the water, scaring the mice out of Brambleclaw. Firestar fell back into the water, laughing, while easily staying afloat.

"That'll teach you to mess with me! Now," he climbed onto Brambleclaw's back, "...TO THE ISLAND!" Brambleclaw, struggling under Firestar's weight, swam back to the island. He plopped Firestar on the shore and collapsed, panting.

"You're so heavy! You need to lay off the extra fresh-kill!" he panted.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT!" Firestar gasped.

"YES!" Brambleclaw growled. Firestar scoffed.

"Well, to be honest, you are a bit on the kittypet side…" Cloudtail trailed off.

Firestar gasped. "And you fight like a kittypet!"

"You take that back you crow-food eating fox!" Brightheart exclaimed.

"EVERYBODY STOP! I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE!" Dustpelt stepped forward, raising his voice. All the cats turned to him. Dustpelt took a deep breath, "I...am actually in love with Firestar…" He looked away. The clan gasped.

"Wait...so in the training hollow, when you said you loved him to wake up...you weren't-" Squirrelflight paused.

Dustpelt shook his head, "I AM IN LOVE WITH FIRESTAR!"

Ferncloud ran up to him. "You piece of fox-dung!" she hissed. She swiped her claws across his face, leaving a trickle of red. Firestar, meanwhile, had his mouth wide open in shock, not moving.

"Um, Firestar….are you okay?" Brambleclaw asked cautiously. Firestar gulped and nodded. He walked over to Sandstorm and whispered in her ear.

Sandstorm gasped. "You piece of fox-dung!" She stalked over to sit beside Ferncloud, fuming. Firestar turned around and grinned sheepishly to the clan.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about how short it is! I just felt so bad about not updating for so long, so this is just a detail chapter!**


	12. Chapter 11: Disqualified

_Recap: Dustpelt nodded, "I AM IN LOVE WITH FIRESTAR!" Firestar walked over to Sandstorm and whispered in her ear._

_Sandstorm gasped. "You piece of fox-dung!" She stalked over to sit beside Ferncloud, fuming. Firestar turned around and grinned sheepishly to the clan._

**Brambleclaw POV:**

I stared in shock at my leader, as he looked nervously to the clan. I decided to save him the humiliation, despite the fact of how much it tempted me.

"Okay then! I think it's time to gather up with the other clans! Don't you think so? Okay? Okay…" Without waiting for a reply, I quickly walked back to the other clans, with my clanmates following me, still confused. Firestar walked past me, shaking, and jumped onto the tree alongside the other leaders.

''The last task for the warriors, is the triathlon. Due to amount of accusing of cheating,'' Blackstar paused and glared at Firestar, who was oblivious to anything any cat was saying. "We will be overseeing the event," he finished.

"The triathlon will start at the stream near WindClan territory for the hunting portion. Once you catch one fish and one mouse, you will then proceed to ThunderClan territory and climb up one tree, jump to the next, and climb down it. Then you will swim across the lake from ThunderClan territory to Twolegplace in WindClan territory and race back to the gathering island. The first cat to get back wins for their clan. We will split up, so each spot will be surveyed to ensure no cheating. We can split up each of the clans into four portions, and go to the different places. One portion of each can stay here for the finish and so on. Let's go." Leopardstar nodded and made her way to the tree-bridge leading off the island.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

The clans had split up, some of ThunderClan, WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan staying here near the stream, and so on. I took my place next to the stream.

"Begin...NOW!"

I crouched over the water, waiting for a fish. I looked to my left, and saw the majority of the RiverClan warriors had already caught their fish, and had moved on to find mice. Just as I saw a fish, I saw a shadow behind me, scaring the fish away.

"Hey!" I protested. Before I could say anything, I was pushed into the stream. _Oh StarClan, not again!_ I stood up, shivering.

"That was cheating! Did you not just see that?!" I complained to Onestar, who was surveying this portion of the triathlon. Onestar remained silent, looking puzzled.

"What do you mean? I didn't see anything!" Onestar meowed with fake innocence. I huffed and turned back round, just in time to see Nightcloud smirking back at me. _Of course, why am I not surprised?_ Jumping out of the stream, I shook the water from my pelt, purposely getting Onestar wet. I huffed and walked back to the stream, quickly caught a fish, and proceeded deeper into the trees. I found Sandstorm, who had just caught a mouse.

"Hey Brambleclaw! Why are you wet?"

"Take a guess," I sighed.

"Cheaters….yeah, Rowanclaw scared away my mouse. Well, I should get to the trees, bye!" She raced off, leaving me to find a mouse. I looked around and saw a splotch of brown behind a bush. I slowly crept up, and pounced, causing the creature to yowl in surprise. It turned out to be Oakfur, the small brown ShadowClan warrior.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I gasped.

"Watch it you piece of fox-dung," he spat. "Are you trying to injure me on purpose, you're a cheater! I'm going to report you to Blackstar!"

"No, I'm sorry, I just-"

"Shut up!" he cut me off, and dragged me to where Blackstar was.

"This idiot tried to injure me, so I couldn't go on!" Oakfur complained.

"No! It wasn't like that! I mistook him for a mouse and pounced on him. It was an honest mistake!" I protested.

"How do you mistake a cat for a mouse! You were deliberately trying to hurt him, you are disqualified from this task! Go back to the gathering island!" Blackstar spat.

"But-"

"NO!"

"Well, someone put mouse-bile in your fresh-kill," I retorted. I earned a warning growl from Blackstar. I just rolled my eyes and made my way back.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

When I got back, my clanmates cheered, thinking that I had won. I silenced them.

"I got disqualified."

"Why? What happened?" Leafpool asked.

"I mistook Oakfur for a mouse. I pounced on him, and he got me disqualified, claiming that I was trying to injure him so he couldn't continue." I sighed.

"Why didn't Firestar do anything about it?" Cinderpaw questioned.

"It was Blackstar who did it. Firestar wasn't there, but even if he was, he wouldn't have done anything," I growled. Just then, a cheer came. I turned around to see Blackclaw, Owlwhisker, and Rowanclaw arrive at the same time. _That's not possible, a tie? That can't have just been a coincidence,_

**PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE BELOW**

**A/N: I know this is a bad chapter, I'm not proud of it. I'm not proud of my recent chapters either, but I just don't know what to write. I feel like I'm just dragging this on too long, do you think so? Please, if you have any ideas about what can happen in the next chapter, send them to me. It would be really helpful! Thanks!**


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